Never Giving Up
by middleofsomewhere
Summary: After two years, Lily finally gives in to Scorpius. He would never leave her alone, and she would never give him her time of day, but once they open up to each other, things will never be the change. Lily's just glad he never gave up on her. ONE-SHOT


**I don't even know how long I have been working on this, but I finally got it how i wanted it, so I hope you all enjoy! I have a poll on my profile page, so if you enjoyed this, please go vote for the next story I will be writing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter World, or anything in it.**

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Slytherin.

The word rang through her ears like a loud piercing bell. There was no mistaking what she heard, but she wished desperately that it had only been her imagination. All of the students in the Great Hall went silent. All eyes were on her. Some looked shocked, while others looked flat out disappointed. She dared to look up at her family, who were all seated at the Gryffindor table. Her older brothers looked outraged. How could she not be sorted into Gryffindor? Everyone in the family had been, even Lysander and Lorcan, who were technically not even family.

Lily felt as if she were going to burst into tears if she looked at them any longer. She looked over to those who would become her future housemates. Some wore a grimace on their face, looking disgusted to have a Potter in their house. Others seemed like it was exactly what the house needed.

She couldn't move. The sorting hat still sat on her head, begging for her to take him off so he could finish sorting the few students that remained.

Lily didn't hear a thing the sorting hat said. She felt frozen to the stool, to embarrassed to stand up and take her place at the Slytherin table.

Her hands gripped tightly underneath the stool, she braved another look at her family. All those dreams of staying up late playing chess in the common room, or finishing homework by the fire were gone. She would never be able to set foot in the Gryffindor common room, the room her brothers always told her stories about. The kind of stories that if she told her parents about, her brothers would probably hex her into the next century.

She would never have the chance to make those memories of her own.

"Lily, there's still other students who need to be sorted," Professor Longbottom said softly. He took the sorting hat off of her head and motioned for her to go sit down with her new housemates.

Lily slowly stood up, conscious of all the eyes that she knew were on her. Her feet felt like jello, wobbling her way across the Great Hall, threatening to give out at any second. This couldn't be real, she thought , concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. There was no way she was going to faint in front of the whole school, despite the outcome of her sorting. She already had enough embarrassment for one night.

Her only hope was that Hugo might also be sorted into Slytherin. At least that way, she wouldn't be alone in a strange and creepy house. But when his name was called out, and the hat was placed on his head, Lily nearly burst out crying when it shouted, "Gryffindor!"

The small girl didn't eat a thing that night, despite the pains of hunger that her stomach kept sending her. All she could do was watch her family congratulate her cousin. She should have been there with them, having a great time, finally being there with all of her cousins and siblings.

"Are you going to eat anything?" Someone asked her, causing her to jump with fright. She had not expected anyone from Slytherin house would want to talk to her. She turned to her left, where she found a blonde boy, who looked about her brothers age- no he looked about 13, she wasn't going to think about her family anymore tonight.

"Why do you care?" she snapped at him, immediately wishing that she hadn't. Those words sounded so Slytherin like as they rolled off her tongue.

"I can see why you were sorted into Slytherin," he mused, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. "You're Lily Potter, right?"

"Yes, and who might you be?" She replied, trying to sound nicer, hoping that the sorting hat might reconsider which house she really belonged in. Because she knew it was not Slytherin.

"Scorpius Malfoy. I'm in my third year," he replied. Malfoy. The word echoed in her head.

How come it all had to happen to her? First she gets sorted into Slytherin, and then a Malfoy has to be the one to be nice to her? This had to be a dream.

Lily just gave him a small smile and then turned away from him, finally deciding to grab some food, just so she had an excuse not to talk to Malfoy. After she took the first bite, she realized how hungry she was. The food tasted better than anything she had ever ate before. She wasn't sure if it just tasted so good because she was trying to occupy her thoughts with something other than the fact that a Malfoy was trying to befriend her, or if the food actually was that fantastic.

"Your family doesn't seem to happy that you're in Slytherin," Malfoy noted, looking up at Lily's family. Lily took another bite of her food, ignoring the Malfoy boy.

Why couldn't he take a hint and leave her alone?

"But they'll get used to it eventually." he added. Lily ignored him again, but she did look up to her family. They did look upset, but at the same time, she could see that they were going on with their usual lives without her.

"You don't seem that bad," Malfoy said. "You don't seem like a normal Slytherin. You just seem like you know how to get what you want." he decided, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice.

_Yes, I do know how to get what I want_, Lily thought to herself. "You're right," she finally said, turning to look at him. Her gaze hardened as she said the next part. "Now, what I want right now is for you to leave me alone."

Malfoy didn't even flinch at her hard tone. Being in Slytherin for two years had made him tough enough to not get offended by simple little comments like that. But he did get the message. He left her alone for the rest of the night.

Later that night, Lily felt terrified. The feast had just ended, and now the fifth year prefects were leading her, along with the rest of the Slytherin first years, to the common room. She didn't really know what to expect. Her brothers always told her stories of the Gryffindor common room, and now that she wouldn't be going there, she had no idea what to expect.

All of the other first years around her were chatting away excitedly, not paying any attention to her, but she didn't really mind. She didn't want to have anything to do with Slytherin house if she could help it.

"Parseltongue," the boy prefect said to the wall. Suddenly, it started moving, and soon, it was large enough for people to fit through it. The two prefects walked in, and waited for everyone else to as well.

Lily was the last one to come in. All of the other students had pushed their way forward, and Lily just was not in the mood to fight back. When she finally did make it to the common room, she was amazed. Though it was nothing like what James sand Albus had told her about the Gryffindor common room, it still looked stunning. It was much larger than she had expected, and everything was either dark green or silver. There were also large couches scattered throughout the room, and also some small tables to be used for studying.

"So, what do you think of it?" Scorpius asked her, taking her by surprise.

"It's fine," Lily replied, before walking away from him, with the rest of the first year girls, who were being shown where their dormitory was.

Lily did not like her dorm mates. They where nothing like her, and took every chance they got to make fun of her. They would tease her about her hair, or her surname, things she had no say in. It's not like she asked to be a Potter, or for her hair to be such a bright red. That's just how it was. She got used to the teasing after a while, thankfully her family started getting over the fact that she was a Slytherin, but that didn't change who she was, and they let her sit with them at the Gryffindor table. But when she was forced to return to her common room, she had no one.

Scorpius was always there, but Lily did not want a thing to do with him. He was a Malfoy after all, and she was a Potter. Befriending him would only make her more unpopular than she already was. And she didn't want to lose her family again.

This happened for nearly two years, before Lily finally gave in. She was tired of always having to tell him to get lost, or to find someone else to bother. He couldn't be to bad could he? After all, he did seem to actually care about her, which was more than anyone else in her house had offered.

"How was your summer break, Lily?" He asked her the first day back for her third year.

"Well, Malfoy, my break was actually quite horrible. My family acts like they are fine with me being in Slytherin, but I know they really haven't. So I spent the whole time locked up in my room doing my homework and having no one to talk to. How was your's?" she replied in a fake happy tone, trying her hardest to be nice to the annoying boy. He was now in his fifth year, and she in her third. At first, Malfoy seemed taken aback at her response, having gotten used to her trying to get him to go away.

He knew how much it bugged her when he would come and talk to her, and honestly, the only reason he did it was because he felt sorry for her. He couldn't help but try to be nice to her. No one else was. After two years of going to the school, the red head still only had her family for friends, and even some of them still didn't want anything to do with her.

"Boring." he replied, still in shock. "My parents left me home alone the whole time."

Lily felt a pang of guilt. She suddenly realized why Malfoy was always trying to get her attention. She was the only one that actually talked to him, even if it was just telling him to go away. Even his parents didn't talk to him when he was home.

Being a Malfoy must have been hard for him. After all, his grandparents didn't exactly make the name better after the war.

"I'm sorry," she said before she realized it. She looked up at the tall blonde boy and saw a look of confusion on his face. It was pretty out of character for her to say something like that to him. "Not about your parents- well of course about them- but that I've ignored you all this time. It was incredibly rude of me to do so. I'm sorry." she repeated, the words spilling out of her mouth before she could stop them. "Can we just start over?"

Malfoy looked like he was about to pass out. Lily could see why. After two years of being a complete arse to him, she suddenly was asking for them to start over- as friends? He didn't reply to her- apparently in to much shock, so Lily had to be the one to "start over".

"Hi, I'm Lily Potter," she said, offering him her hand.

"Scorpius Malfoy," he replied, shaking her hand as a smile spread across his face.

"So," Lily said, as the two of them started walking to the Great Hall for breakfast, "What did you do all summer then, if your family was away?"

They continued talking all the way through breakfast. Lily's families' reaction to her new friend was priceless. She couldn't help but smile when all of their jaws dropped. None of them thought that she would actually become friends with Malfoy, after all, all this time, she had never seemed like she wanted anything to do with the boy.

Lily was in tears. How could her brother be such an arse? What had she ever done to make him act like this towards her? All this time, she had tried her hardest to be friendly with him. She sat with him when Scorpius was studying for his OWLs, and made conversation with the whole family. She thought that she could actually start to mend her relationship with all of them. But apparently she was wrong.

"_You're not my sister," _James had said. The words felt like knifes digging into her chest. Lily couldn't stop thinking about when he said that to her. It had to be a dream. He hadn't really meant it.

But he had. And that's how Lily ended up curled up in Scorpius's arms.

"Shh, its going to be okay, Lily, it'll all be fine," Scorpius told her, trying to calm her down.

"B-but he told me I'm not his- his sister, Scorp!" she cried.

"Then he doesn't deserve someone as special as you. If he can't see you for who you really are, then he doesn't deserve to be your brother."

"Thanks Scorp. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Just be thankful I never stopped bothering you," he whispered, running his hand through her hair.

"Did you talk to your brother?" Scorpius asked Lily, standing up the second he saw her emerge into the Slytherin common room. It had been nearly a year since Lily and James had had a civil conversation. But Lily, being sick of glaring at her older brother, had decided to talk to him.

Only now, she wished she had decided to just let it be.

"He- he said I was in the house of Voldemort, and I would turn out just like him. He- he said it was y- your fault!" Lily said the second she was near Scorpius. "I should have never talked to him in the first place!"

"Lily, calm down, its going to be okay," he said, pulling her into a hug. "He just doesn't know you anymore, thats all. If he knew who you really were, then he would have never said anything like that. You're not going to turn out like Voldemort. I think I, of all people would know if you were. Trust me Lily. You're special, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"But- he's my brother!" she said, trying to pull away from Scorpius. He just didn't understand how much her brothers meant to her. After James had gotten in a fight with her, Albus stopped talking to her as well. She felt like she didn't belong in her family anymore. She knew Scorpius was there for her, but she wished that her brothers were there for her just like Scorpius.

"And someday he'll realize what a big mistake he made when he yelled at you in the first place. But for now, just let him figure that out on his own." He kissed her forehead and then went up to his dorm, knowing that Lily would want to be left alone right now.

Something had to be wrong with her. Lily knew it. She wasn't thinking properly. She had to be sick, or stressed out from the upcoming OWLs. That had to be it. She was just to stressed out from all the revisions she had to do to get ready for them. After they were over, she would go back to normal.

Because there was no way she had a crush on her best friend, Scorpius Malfoy.

Over the past three years, Lily and Scorpius became very close. Since Scorpius's name was still one that people feared, no one wanted to befriend him, and since Lily was the only Potter to ever be sorted into Slytherin, no one wanted to be friends with her either- so of course, even though it took two years to happen- they became best friends. They spent almost every spare moment together: working on homework, or going to Hogsmeade together- as friends of course.

So why was Lily now feeling as if she liked him as more than a friend?

"Hey Lils," Scorpius greeted her, sitting down at the opposite side of the table. They always sat near the back of the common room- the large comfy couch was always taken by those who were more popular than them.

"Hey," Lily managed to reply, looking up from her paper which only had two words written on them- her name.

"Whatcha working on?" he asked, looking at her paper.

"It was going to be my History of Magic paper, but I can't come up with anything to write about," she said, looking very frustrated.

Scorpius smiled at her. "Just think, after this year, you won't have to take that horrible class ever again!"

Lily looked up at him and smiled. She loved how he could always make any bad situation better, even if it was as small as writing an annoying paper. She loved how he could brighten up her day after having a fight with her brothers, which were coming on more and more frequently now a days.

"Ummm... I have to go," Scorpius said suddenly, a blush creeping up his face. He stood up, looked away from Lily, and then ran back to his dorm.

Lily was left feeling very confused.

A tear fell down the 15 year old girl's face as she watched her best friend make his was across the stage. These last few days of her fifth year would be the last she spent with him for a long time. His hair was messy as always, and just a bit to long, but Lily still loved it. He had a smile on his face, but Lily could tell it was fake.

Over the last few months, though things had been slightly awkward between them, (though neither really knew why) he had told her how scared he was to go out into the "real world". He didn't want to have to face everyone. They all thought he was as bad as his grandfather.

The Headmaster handed Scorpius his diploma, and he walked off of the stage to go sit back in his place. Lily tried her hardest to focus on the rest of the graduation-her brother would be coming on any second now- but she couldn't. Her eyes kept traveling back to the blonde haired boy. The boy she didn't want anything to do with nearly five years ago. The boy who had always really cared about her. The boy who was her first real friend. The boy she couldn't bare to be parted from.

At one point, Scorpius caught her looking over at him. He offered her a small smile, and Lily couldn't help but think that he only knew one part of the story. He only knew that she was sad he would be leaving. He didn't know it wasn't because she loved him. He only thought it was because they were best friends.

Lily wished she had the guts to tell him otherwise. But there was a reason she wasn't sorted into Gryffindor. She wasn't brave like her brothers. She was cunning, but she wasn't brave. Even though she knew she wanted to tell him, there was no way she would be able to.

She wouldn't risk losing his friendship. She needed him, even if it meant just being friends.

"Lily, stop fidgeting, I'm – trying – to – curl – your - hair!" Rose squealed, pausing every time Lily moved. "You're going to get yourself burned!"

"That wouldn't be a problem if you just acted like a normal witch and used your wand instead of that stupid curling iron!" Lily replied, a scowl on her face. She hated getting her hair done. Especially by Rose, who always insisted on doing her hair.

Lily loved Rose. After all, she had been the first one to accept that Lily was a Slytherin, and that it didn't change her from being who everyone knew she was. But there were some down sides to having her around.

Like how she always made Lily come to her dorm four hours before any dance that was held at the school. It was pure torture. Especially today. It was the night before everyone went home for summer holiday. The Goodbye dance was always held the day of Graduation, in honor of all of the seventh years that would not be returning to Hogwarts next year.

Lily did not want to go to the dance. She did not want the year to end. She wanted to stay at this school, and keep doing homework night after night, if that meant she wouldn't have to say goodbye to Scorpius.

"Where's the fun in that?" Rose pouted, as she started on another curl. "Besides," she continued, "if I did it with my wand, then it would only take five minutes to get ready, and I would never get to see you."

"Rose, I see you all the time."

"Lies! You are always hanging around Malfoy. If I didn't know better, I would think you two were dating."

A small blush crept onto Lily's face. _Was that really what we looked like?_ she wondered, trying to hide her face from her cousin.

"Wait... you aren't, are you?"

"What? No. Me and Malfoy are definitely not dating." Lily said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"But you want to," Rose guessed, smiling. "I see the way you look at him, Lils."

Lily didn't reply. She tried to make it seem like it was grossing her out even thinking of dating him, but she failed miserably.

"It's funny," The older cousin started, but she seemed to have only finished the thought in her head. She continued working on Lily's hair, leaving the younger cousin very confused.

"What's funny?" Lily eventually asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"You really don't notice it do you?" Rose asked, amused. She set the curling iron down and set to work on makeup. "The way he looks at you."

"What'd you mean by that?"

"Do you love him?" she asked instead.

"Well..."

"Let me answer that for you. You love him." she paused for a moment. Lily could swear it was only for dramatic effect. "He loves you too, Lily. I think he always has, to tell you the truth."

Lily had never felt more uncomfortable. Her hair was pinned up in such a way that she felt like if she so much as bumped into something, it would all fall into her face. Her dress was just as bad. Rose knew how much she hated to wear dresses, especially ones that were floor length. The only thing that Lily didn't mind about the dress was that it was green, her house color. Though for a while, she hadn't liked the fact that she was in Slytherin, over the years, she learned to love her house, even so much that green became her favorite color.

"Please, Rose? I have a perfectly good dress in my dorm room that doesn't make me feel like I'm going to trip."

"You are wearing that dress, and you are going to like it. I know Scorpius will!" Rose looked very pleased with herself as the two of them walked down the stairs and into the Great Hall, where this year's Goodbye dance would be taking place.

There were already many people there dancing to the music and getting food. Lily wanted nothing more than to just be in her common room with her best friend, but she knew that would never happen. Not with Rose glued next to her.

"Come on! Let's go dance!" Rose exclaimed, grabbing her cousins arm and dragging her into the middle of the crowd.

"Rose! I don't want to dance!" Lily complained, trying as hard as she could to get away from Rose's grasp.

"To bad!" she laughed, "You are going to dance, and you are going to like it!"

After a few minutes, the rest of the Weasley family decided to join in.

Her family was really good at making her miserable. They never let her once sit down or go get a drink. After an hour of nonstop dancing, she was praying that she would pass out to get out of this dance.

"I'll be right back," Rose told the family, slipping away from them and giving Albus a meaningful glance.

"Hey, Lily, would you fancy a dance with your big brother before he leaves this school for good?" he asked her, the words sounding rehearsed. Despite that, Lily nodded and began to dance with her brother.

"So whats the real reason you're making me dance with you?" Lily asked after a second.

Albus didn't seem to be expecting that. "How-"

"That look Rose gave you just before she left. What is she up to?"

"I can't tell you," Albus said, obviously enjoying his sister not knowing something that he did.

"Al. Tell me now. Don't make be go all Slytherin on you."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Lily expected that response to be from her brother, but she realized it was definitely not him.

It was Scorpius.

"Scorpius!" Lily exclaimed, glad to finally see her best friend after an hour of nonstop dancing with her family.

"Albus, would you mind if I cut in?" he asked. Lily felt like she was about to explode. Did Scorpius really want to dance with her?

_Its probably just as friends_, Lily tried to convince herself, forgetting the conversation she had with Rose just a few hours before. Her whole mind went blank, and her heart started beating faster and faster by the second.

"Of course, Malfoy," Albus replied, a small smile on his face. He let go of Lily's hands and walked away, back to his friends.

Scorpius had a huge smile on his face as he slipped his hands around Lily's waist.

"What's go you in such a good mood?" Lily asked, very nervous.

"Well, someone just told me some very good news that I was hoping was true for the past seven years." he said, looking down at Lily in a way he never had before.

"And what would that be?" Lily asked, even though she was fairly sure what he would say next. She just knew that Rose had gone and told him about their little conversation from early today. She could feel her heart beating in her chest loud and fast.

He didn't say anything in response. Instead he leaned down and kissed the girl he had been in love with since the moment he met her.

When they broke apart from the kiss, Lily smiled at him. "Thanks for never giving up on me."


End file.
